“You will all fall away,” Jesus told them...
Peter declared, “Even if all fall away, I will not.”
...”I tell you the truth,” Jesus answered, today – yes, tonight -
before the rooster crows twice,
you yourself will disown me three times.”
But Peter insisted emphatically, “ Even if I have to die with you,
I will never disown you.” And all the others said the same...
...Then everyone deserted him and fled.
MARK 14: 27a, 29-31, 50

We all like to think of ourselves as strong and loyal.
We want to be; we intend to be.
But we are human. We get scared.
We run. We hide.
Sometimes we fail miserably at the things we want so much to do well in.

Jesus knew that He spoke truth.
He knew that He would be walking this final part of His earthly journey
alone,
without the company of those who'd traveled with Him
for the past thee and one half years.
He knew they would give in to their fear.
He knew they would discover soon enough how weak they were,
how wrong their statements had been.

He needed time to pray, time with His Heavenly Father.
He headed toward Gethsemane,
a garden on the Mount of Olives, a place they'd frequented before.

It was late, but communicating with the One who knew
all that He was facing was needful.
His disciples were left to wait and watch
while He went further, wrestling with His will and that of His Father's.

Upon His return, He found the disciples sleeping
and awakened them to witness the arrival of the arresting officers
sent by the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders.
Judas identified Jesus with the prearranged signal of a kiss.
Shortly thereafter, Jesus was abandoned by those
with whom He'd shared the bread and the cup
during the evening meal.

To ponder:
What commitment have you made with full intention of keeping it,
only to discover you were not the person you'd hoped to have been?

Twila Charles Leichty, L-13